Control of SRM drive for photovoltaic powered water pumping system

The aim of present study is to develop a Luo' converter-based low-cost solar powered water pumping scheme utilising a switched reluctance motor (SRM). The speed of SRM drive is controlled by adjusting the DC-bus voltage of split-capacitor converter. The converter is electronically commutated at fundamental frequency for low switching losses. A Luo' DC-DC converter working in continuous inductor current and capacitor voltage modes (continuous inductor current mode and continuous capacitor voltage mode) is utilised to feed power to SRM drive through a split-capacitor converter. It also provides the limitless sector of maximum power point tracking (MPPT). The elimination of current and voltage sensors on the motor side owing to variable speed operation of the motor drive makes the system cost-effective and reliable. The soft-starting of SRM drive is also achieved through the proper step size and initial duty cycle selection through MPPT algorithm. The performance of SRM system is validated by both Simulink/MATLAB platform-based model and responses of developed prototype.